Knowledge mobilisation: new insights for theory and practice

Knowledge creation, flow and promulgation are enmeshed in complex institutional and organisational arrangements. The concern over the under-use of research given this complexity has led to the development of strategies aimed at mobilising knowledge. Huw Davies and Sandra Nutley describe the objectives of a new UK project exploring and linking the theory and practice of knowledge mobilisation

Understanding change in the public sector:a local authority case study

Increasingly managers in the public sector are being required to manage change, but many of the models of change which are available to them have been developed from private sector experience. There is a need to understand more about how the change process unfolds in the public sector. A case study of change in one local authority over the period 1974-87 is provided. The events surrounding housing decentralisation and the introduction of community development are considered in detail. To understand these events a twofold model of change is proposed: a short wave model which explains a change project or event; and a long wave model which considers how these projects or events might be linked together to provide a picture of an organisation over a longer period. The short wave model identifies multiple triggers of change and signals the importance of mediators in recognising these triggers. The extent to which new ideas are implemented and the pace of their adoption is influenced by the balance of power within the organisation and the political tactics which are used. Broad phases in the change process can be identified, but there is not a simple linear passage through these. The long wave model considers the way in which continuity and change feed off one another. It suggests that periods of relative stability may be interspersed with more radical transformations as the dominant paradigm guiding the organisation shifts. However, such paradigmatic shifts in local government may be less obvious than in the private sector due to the diverse nature of the former

What counts as good evidence

Making better use of evidence is essential if public services are to deliver more for less. Central to this challenge is the need for a clearer understanding about standards of evidence that can be applied to the research informing social policy. This paper reviews the extent to which it is possible to reach a workable consensus on ways of identifying and labelling evidence. It does this by exploring the efforts made to date and the debates that have ensued. Throughout, the focus is on evidence that is underpinned by research, rather than other sources of evidence such as expert opinion or stakeholder views.Publisher PD

Missing in action? The role of the knowledge mobilisation literature in developing knowledge mobilisation practices

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme (project number 11/2004/10).Despite a burgeoning literature and the development of new theories about knowledge mobilisation in the past 15 years, findings from this online survey in 2014 of over 100 research agencies (n=106; response rate 57%) show the challenges of making effective use of formal and informal learning. Many agencies rely on traditional knowledge ‘push’ activities; formal use of theoretical models and frameworks is patchy; and knowledge-sharing between agencies and the comprehensive evaluation of knowledge mobilisation programmes are limited. Closer links between research agencies, and between these and knowledge mobilisation researchers, could enhance future knowledge mobilisation practice and theory.PostprintPeer reviewe

Knowledge mobilisation: creating, sharing and using knowledge

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New development : Turning around failing schools - lessons from Lahore

This article reviews the operation of two improvement partnerships in Pakistan, where third sector organisations adopted selected state schools. We reflect on the lessons arising from both schemes in the light of the Institute of Educational Sciences’ (IES) guidance on turning around schools. Although the operation of both partnership schemes is context specific, the findings should nevertheless be of interest to policy-makers in other countries. They also show how some aspects of the IES’s guidance may need to be adapted and augmented, especially in the context of developing countries.PostprintNon peer reviewe

Exploring and mapping the knowledge and practice terrain

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Facing the challenges of research-informed knowledge mobilization : ‘practising what we preach’?

This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research [Health Services and Delivery Research programme] (project number 11/2004/10).The political imperative to make public services more evidence based has contributed to the growth in the past two decades of both research and practice in the field of knowledge mobilization: the range of approaches to encourage the creation, sharing and use of research‐informed knowledge alongside other forms of knowledge. Paradoxically the growth of the field has made the challenge of encouraging research use much more complex and uncertain, and the roles of knowledge mobilizers much more diverse and demanding. This in‐depth interview study of knowledge mobilization in 51 agencies concerned with knowledge for public services breaks new ground in exploring a paradox at the heart of knowledge mobilization practice: the challenges that research agencies face in practising in research‐informed ways themselves.PostprintPeer reviewe